


Fire in the snow.

by Ngaire_Taylor



Category: Wolverine (Comics), Wolverine and the X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 18:39:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12894324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ngaire_Taylor/pseuds/Ngaire_Taylor
Summary: Experiment.... wrote years ago< > Translation – unless indicated ancient Greek / Russian hybrid used by the “Family”* * -Telepathy~ ~ - Emphise on wordsALL CAPS - shouting





	Fire in the snow.

**Author's Note:**

> Experiment.... wrote years ago
> 
> < > Translation – unless indicated ancient Greek / Russian hybrid used by the “Family”  
> * * -Telepathy  
> ~ ~ - Emphise on words  
> ALL CAPS - shouting

Fire in the snow.   
By Ngaire Taylor.

He interested me from the very start; well if I had to admit it he even impressed me a little. I was sitting in a tree when he came running by. It had been a crystal clear night and I had decided to go for a walk. A few miles later I climbed a tree to rest for a moment before heading back. The world had turned to magic, a light dust of new snow covered the ground, the moon was out and everything it touched turned to silver, it was as if the pure, newly fallen snow contained a fire, a cold enchanting silver blue fire, a fire that would never go out. It was as if there was fire in the snow. The forest was so peaceful that I relaxed watching the patterns of shadow and snow in the forest. This far out in the wilderness was so quiet that my heartbeat was like a drum and the sound of my breathing like the roar of an engine. Then I realised that the sound I heard was the sound of jeep engines, and they were moving in my direction… 

The sound of the engines was an unnerving sound this far out in the wilds. I stood up against the trunk of the tree. The sound made me nervous, I was glad that no one could see me standing here. I cursed the slackness that meant I had left my guns at home. I mentally took stock of what armaments I was carrying, sighed, and pulled out a short sword and knife combination. It was at that point that I caught a glimpse of him; he was running through the trees. He was graceful like an animal, primitive, wild. I turned my head to follow his movements; the image was like a dream… the vision of the man running against the snowy background. And then the first jeep appeared. I wondered who they were, and where they were heading. Was he being chased? Was he with them? Where were they going? He passed by the tree that was sheltering me; no one travelling that fast should have seen me, yet he turned and looked up at me, it was if he had known exactly where I was. A chill went through me. I stayed where I was until I could not here the sound of engines any more…. Climbing down from the tree I knew that it was time for me to move on.

Moving from place to place, never stopping never staying long in any one place, had been hard a first. But then it became a habit, an urge too hard to stop. Anything out of the ordinary would start me thinking of what I had left behind, and as I was never anywhere long enough to get to know an area too long anything and anyone soon became out of the ordinary. And remembering what I had left behind helped me… made me move on. I had struck it lucky this time, travelling by freight train I jumped off in a small town, not wanting to be near people I noticed a truck stop, perfect for my needs. Watching the drivers I picked up one that was wearing the heaviest jacket and waited… sure enough after ten minutes he left and headed for his truck… noticing which one that it was I broke into the back and was making myself comfortable as we pulled away from the diner I smiled, probably my first smile in months. I was headed north again, and this time in comfit. I slept through the night and awoke the next morning, the truck had stoped in another small town just outside a store. Feeling relaxed and in need of food I headed into the small store. Noticing the driver talking to the shopkeeper I realised that this was his last stop and was heading in. I purchased a small candy bar and a coke, and headed out of town to do a bit of recon. And here is where my luck stepped in, a couple of miles out of town was a cabin… now my cabin, at least for the rest of winter. 

The cabin was perfect; I circled around it noticing that whoever owned it had not been here for months… if not years. Being careful I entered it to explore the inside. There were three bedrooms, a bathroom and the main room. Checking the cupboards I came to the conclusion that a man owned the cabin. However no mater how hard I looked I could not find a single photo of him. According to the clothes in his room he wasn’t all that tall, yet the only photos of men I could find were of a taller man and one in some kind of a wheelchair, and it was my option that the photos were really of the red haired woman who was also in them. As I prowled around the room, for some strange reason the image of a man I saw running, through a forest in the snow, came to me. 

Checking out the cabin and the area around it had taken the rest of the day. Noticing the lateness of the day I decided to chop up some wood for a fire to heat some water and grab some sleep in the first real bed for over a year. As I dried myself after the bath I found myself contemplating my looks in the mirror. At just 4’6 many people assumed I was younger than I was. The short hair and pixie look to my face didn’t help. Taking out my contacts the image looked even younger, the black upon black eyes even more fey… less human. Sighing, I wondered if anyone would keep pictures of me the way someone kept pictures of a tall red haired woman. Strangely enough the last thought I had as I was falling asleep was of a man running.

Borrowing a shirt from the cabin the next day, I headed into town. I decided to make use of a jeep I found in a shed around the back. After fixing it up, putting the battery back in it and filling it with fuel, it worked perfectly. Stoping at the outskirts of town where no one would see me, and parking the jeep. I headed to the store to pick up some much needed groceries. I picked up cans of baked beans, corn, a few other assorted cans of food and sundry items, some fresh vegetables, dried soup mix, eggs, bacon and the ingredients for bread. Walking over to the counter I picked up what needed to make the thing I had been craving for over a year, burnt popcorn in real butter. At the counter I tossed in a few candy bars and something to drink on the way back to the cabin. The shopkeeper checked over what I was buying and looked at me with a friendly smile.   
”Visiting someone?” he asked  
”Yep, my uncle… I asked if I could pick up the groceries. He said that he would meet me at the dinner”  
”Well you’ll need to get him some beer, and looking from your groceries. I noticed that you have forgotten it.”   
He left to go pick up a six-pack. I was confused and a bit nervous after this conversation, who did he think my ‘uncle’ was? I almost left before he came back. The only thing that stoped me, was that disappearing like that would be more suspicious that staying. Leaving after he came back with the beer I decided to go the next day. As it turns out I didn’t have until then… I just didn’t know it. 

Back at the cabin I packed up my bags to leave. Looking around I headed out to work out some of my frustration on some firewood. If I had to go the next day I was determined to have my popcorn tonight. Out in the snow, chopping wood I found my self-relaxing, swinging the axe I started to remember doing this for mother, and how she would greet me with a tall glass of hot chocolate and a kiss at the back door. I was so wrapped up in the memory that the first indication that I was not a lone was of someone clearing their throat. Without thinking, I turned and threw the axe. 

The axe flew through the air where the man had been standing… he had moved, and the axe hit the ground with an audible thump. Waiting for the stranger to act, I moved into a defensive position, cursing myself. If not for the rashness of my actions I could have talked myself out of this. The way he moved made him feel familiar yet I knew we had never met, I was intrigued yet wary. If it came to a fight I knew I would win, yet the speed at which he had moved to avoid the axe told me not to underestimate him. Besides, I didn’t want to kill him; I never wanted to hurt anyone… He stood there looking at me for a few moments, then pulled out a cigar and lit it. This was so unexpected that I stepped back. He puffed on the cigar and smiled. Walking over to the fallen axe he turned and said in a thick Canadian accent, “well ya look like you were in the middle of something” kicking the axe as he waked by it “I’ll be inside when ya finished” and with that he walked towards the cabin.  
Without realising why I picked up the axe and finished the pile I was on, and picking up a bundle I walked towards the cabin. I was still confused, but curiosity made it impossible for me to leave. He was standing in the kitchen with an open bottle of beer beside him. As I walked towards the fireplace I could feel him watching me. I placed the wood down and checked the fire, moving the burning logs around so they burned better and tossing another on, I realised that I was trying to delay a possible confrontation with the stranger. Walking back to the kitchen I wondered what I was going to say. I sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and waited.  
“Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves, I’m Logan, and as ya’ve guessed this is my cabin.”  
”Hess” I said.   
He smiled “well Hess, now that we’ve introduced ourselves I guess the next question is; what do ya want for dinner?”  
I looked up in surprise, here I was a complete stranger, an uninvited guest… having just attacked him with an axe, and he was asking me what I wanted for dinner? He was either very sure of himself or a fool. I stood up and started to move towards the pantry.   
“I was going to have beans and bread” I looked over at him.   
“Well that sounds good… but how about steak and baked potatoes? I brought some steak at the store and they said ya had the potatoes”  
That explained why he was not very surprised at my presence. How ever that leaves the question of how the storekeeper knew that I was here.   
”Ya have popcorn, and I have milk and chocolate. After dinner we can sit down and have ourselves a talk about what we do now. Ya might want to get cleaned up. I’ll start the cooking” and with that he opened a kitchen draw and pulled out a frying pan.  
I look down at myself and noticed that I was smelly.   
As I turned away he said, “There should be hot water” I left for the bathroom and a promise of a hot shower.

After the shower and putting on another one of his shirts I wondered what was going to happen next. Thinking about Mr. Logan I wondered what he was going to do. No mater how friendly he was he could still be a danger to me, and because of what I was I was a danger to him. I became determined to leave the next day.  
“Well, darlin’ ya do clean up well” He was standing in the kitchen smiling at me. Dinner was on the table and it smelt delicious.   
“Hope ya don’t mind, but your steak is rare”  
”No, that’s fine” I said and smiled. Without knowing why I wanted to trust this man, I wanted to tell him everything.   
Dinner was excellent; it had been a while since I had sat down to eat without worrying about something. Without knowing why I had started to relax around this man, and no mater how much I knew I shouldn’t, I was enjoying myself. It had been a long time since I have felt so relaxed near someone else… he reminds me of Christian, I smile at the thought and continue to eat dinner. 

After dinner we cleaned the plates and made hot chocolate and popcorn. It was then I asked the question that had been on my mind since the general store “how did you know I was here?”   
”I didn’t, not at first… John at the local store noticed ya buying popcorn… I’m the only one that buys the stuff around here. He stocks it in for when I bring friends up here.”  
”The girls in the photographs?”  
“Yep, well one of them… Jubilee. She is the one with the yellow jacket and sunglasses. The others are Kitty, she is in England and Amiko’s in Japan, and they don’t visit much”  
”Who’s the red-haired woman in all of the photographs?” I was eager to know this and blurted it out before realising that I had “she your wife?”  
A dark shadow flickered across his face; it was so quick that had I not been trained to see such things I would not have noticed.  
”I’ll answer those ones if ya answer my next one” he said, his voice seamed a bit sadder, and a flash of anger went out to whoever had hurt this man, realising he was waiting I nodded.   
”The woman in the photos is Jean… a good friend, her husband Scott is the tall fellow with glasses. Now for my question darlin’, who are ya running from… who has you so scarred ya want to curl up and die?”  
With his words a shock went through me, and I found it difficult to breath… without warning I found myself trembling all over, his arms around me, making soothing noises. I realised that I had to pull myself together. Pushing him away I took a deep breath, “Sorry… I guess I should have expected that question… I just didn’t expect the response… if you want to know… I am ‘running’ away from… my last place of employment… I didn’t leave under what would be called normal conditions… and they aren’t very pleased with me”  
“Who were they, Mosab, Surette, Kempi, Shop… The Brotherhood?”  
I looked at him in surprise, very few people knew what I was, and most if not all of them were constantly surprised. It was as if they could not reconcile the way I looked with what I could do. Yet here was a complete stranger asking me what particular ‘dirty tricks’ group I had belonged to. At the surprised look on my face he smiled and said, “no need to look so shocked, I’ve had a colourful past and that stance ya went to outside was too natural to be anything else. Besides that trick ya pulled with the axe wasn’t too shabby either”  
I blushed remembering how badly I had stuffed up earlier that day.   
”No… the company that ran me let itself out to those… but they were always independent.”  
”Kid, did they have a name?”  
”Yes… they called them selves ‘Family’, and to answer your next question they run out of the Greek Islands.”  
With that he frowned and I heard him mutter something about not knowing who the ‘Family’ was. I was surprised, who was this man who seamed to expect to know about ‘Family’?

I was about to ask how he expected to know who the ‘Family’ was when I noticed him freeze, his stance changed, and I realised he was getting ready for a fight. I had automatically copied his actions and was wondering if he was going to attack me, when I noticed he was concentrating on the doorway to the bedroom. Without thinking I ‘reached’ out and almost swore. He was here; I turned to   
Mr. Logan and indicated to him to stand down. With that I called out “you might as well come in and have something to drink, we know your there… and I don’t think it’s fair for Mr. Logan to have two uninvited guests today”. With that the door and he stepped out, he was in uniform and hadn’t changed a bit. I knew I was staring… at 6’ he still had the ability to take my breath away “Michael” I said nodding. “You haven’t changed a bit… the answer stays the same. I’m not coming home, so you can just go away”. If anything he looked sad at my greeting.   
”No, I’m not here for you… I’m here for Aeolus.”   
With that sentence a chill went through me. Just the name itself was enough to cause me concern, yet to have it spoken by him even after so long was almost enough to loose control. Control that had cost me too match to loose, especially now. I noticed Mr. Logan had not moved; he had been watching our conversation with interest. A flash of concern for him made me angry with myself for putting him in such a situation. I had to find a way of keeping him safe… especially if Aeolus was indeed here… somewhere. I turned back to Michael ignoring the questions I could see in Mr. Lagans face.   
”Well, are you here to collect… or kill?”  
”Collect” With that single word a tension that I had not even realised I had dissipated… only to return with the next “~She~ is here to kill. Her actions are not… sanctioned. ‘Family’ sent me to retrieve her… however I am not authorised to stop her…”  
I smiled. “Don’t worry about ~me~… we now have a problem… Mr. Logan has become involved… he must be kept safe. No mater what” With that I drew myself together and stood up as tall as I could and said in the best authorative voice I had “Michael, as a Son of the ‘Family’ I charge you to protect Mr. Logan… at all costs” at that I smiled again “it’ll be a bit of a change for you… its not everyday that ‘Family’ gets to be the good guy. ”  
We were startled by the sound of Mr. Logan clearing his throat. He had relaxed his stand and was pulling out another cigar to light. “Don’t ya worry about me darlin’, and its Logan… “

I was worried this was the third time that Mr. Log… that LOGAN had taken a serious situation and brushed it aside… he didn’t know what was going on, his attitude could kill him. With that thought came the realisation that I was going to break my vow to the ‘Family’… again…. Strange… you would think that something would become easer with practice. I turned to Michael; I could see that he knew what I was about to do… he nodded his head; I could feel him reach… and disappeared. I turned to Logan who had sat down. “I guess I need to explain a few things”  
He smiled “I guess ya do at that darlin’… where did Mr. Mussels pop off to?”  
“He’s still here” Logan looked confused… the best answer was the simplest “He’s a ‘mutant’” I was worried at how Logan would react to that but apart from nodding his head he did not move. I continued on with my story… “All of the ‘Family’ are mutants… I am… so is Aeolus. Michael is… is… well he is here but somewhere else as well. He ‘folds’ space and stands in a pocket… when he does this he can’t be seen or touched… by anyone. Not even me.”  
”O.K. darlin’ that’s his… what’s yours… ”  
I felt nervous telling a complete stranger… but I wanted Logan to trust me completely. If he didn’t trust he could get killed very quickly. I took a breath and spoke “I am a tracker… I can track anything… I can also hide… not like Michael... he ‘wraps’ a bit of… ‘nul’ space around him… me I ‘wrap’ space inside me… I become part of the area I standing in… and disappear. I also… affect electronics.” Knowing what the next question would be I answered it “Aeolus… well… Aeolus, doesn’t miss what she aims at… she also energises the weapons she throws, it’s a form of T.K., and all of the ‘Family’ is hard to kill… usually. It’s a useful ability considering what they do,” I said the last bit with no little sarcasms and a lot of bitterness… for what they do… for what I did. Some things can not be forgotten, and fewer can never be forgiven… ever.  
”Well that explains ya friends party trick… how ‘bout explaining why he’s here?”   
”My sister has a temper… I… betrayed her and she wants payback… in a big way. She thinks she’ll do this by pointing out my faults, slowly… and with much…. Pain…”   
”Sister?”  
“Aeolus”  
”Interesting relations ya have here… not much of a family, no pun intended”  
I deliberately turned the conversation to slightly safer areas, if anything could be safer.  
”Michael? No, Michael isn’t one of the ‘Family’… not as such… he’s… he’s my husband. The ‘Family’ is just that… family… all members are related by ‘blood’ it makes them loyal… or at least usually makes them loyal… it also made it harder for me to leave…” At that I felt my emotional control slipping and nearly burst into tears… yet again. Taking a deep breath I calmed down.   
”So ya sister… this Aeolus is hunting you down to kill ya… I don’t think it’s safe to stay here… we should get going…” He started to stand up.  
“NO… I am not running… not anymore… I am making a stand… the only problem is your safety… there is going to be a fight… and I cannot ensure your safety… I have demanded… aid from Michael. However that will not help you if I am dead. He will only keep you safe while I can… pay.” With that I looked over at Logan. There was a strange look on his face… one that I had not expected from this warm friendly man, one I seen before in my sisters faces… in my face… it was violent… it was visceral… it was hunger…. Hunger for blood, for a fight, for death. He smiled, and for some reason the look reassured me.   
“Ya family aren’t the only ones with ~talents~.” With that he lifted his hands. His hands were large, rough, good hardworking hands… with well shapes fingers. However it wasn’t his fingers that had grabbed by attention… that was focused on the six razor sharp foot long… BLADES… sticking out of the back of them. Three bales were sticking out of the back of each hand. The blades looked sharp enough to cut through your soul. Each one a promise of death, and that promise made me feel happy.

Now don’t get me wrong, at the same time I didn’t want to hurt anyone, I did not want to be violent… however the idea of being defenceless to protect him… of Logan being hurt… killed, had made me angry. He wouldn’t be able to take Aeolus on, but with this new development, I was beginning to think he might just live through this. Just as long as he didn’t do anything stupid.  
”Now what about this ‘payment’ ya were talking about…”  
“I owe Michael… I owe him for getting me out… for letting me go… for freeing me. I told him that if he kept you safe that I would do what I promised him years ago. I would return to be head of the family, I would return and kill father. I am tired. Michael will warn us if she turns up. Goodnight.” And with that I walked into the bedroom to sleep leaving him sitting there with a shocked expression on his face. This would be a long night. 

Seven hours later Michael woke me up **   
**  
**  
**  
By the end of the first statement I was out of bed. By the end of the conversation I was dressed and out the window. I did not want to fight… not her, however… this ENDS here… this ENDS ~NOW~.   
I was tired of running, the concern I felt for Logan made me realise that I had to stop and face my fears… before those fears kills somebody else. 

I walked around to the front of the cabin. She was waiting…   
””  
“”   
We had both fallen into identical stands, both waiting for the other to move. Not surprising… identical twins will do that, especially if trained together. In the beginning their had been three of us Eurus, Aeolus and myself. We were identical in nearly every way… genetically shaped, physically trained to be perfect… perfectly identical. And we had been, in everything that counted… except one. They didn’t know why I did it… I couldn’t explain to them… it made me different… I killed Eurus. I had killed other people, but Eurus was different… her death was… personal, and it was the reason I was now standing in the snow waiting to kill Aeolus. Hopefully before she kills me.

Without waring she strikes… the fight is fast and wild. My heart pumps… my blood races… my mind ‘steps up’. The rest of the world seems to slow down and my senses become clearer… clearer than they have been for too long. The rush is a heady combination, and I have to clamp down hard on the wild exhilaration that courses through my body like wild fire. We fight in silence neither gaining the upper hand, neither willing to concede this fight, like mirror images we strike and counter attack. Neither gaining the advantage that would end this fight… one-way or the other. Just then the cabin door opens and out steps Logan. I curse, noticing my distraction Aeolus changes her strike pattern. I notice it too slowly and it is costly… almost deadly. I step back away from the fight; I feel the blood running down my arm. This cannot be good… we both turn slightly to study the new actor in our play. I notice Logan’s' hands… the claws are out, and he does not seam very happy… Michael must have tried to stop him. I begin to wonder where Michael is when he appears. He stands in front of Logan and raises a hand to stop him from coming any closer. They look at me and I shake my head. This was my fight. I change stands… my arm is hurting… however it could have been worse… I could be feeling nothing at all right now. 

”So… this your new lover… does he ~know~ what you did? Who you are? Will you kill him as well? just like you kill anyone else who comes close to you?”  
She confused me for a moment… why was she speaking in English? It then comes to me… she isn’t talking to me… she’s talking to Logan. I start to slowly move to my left… she is between myself… and the men. I need to get her to move further away from the cabin. The sword is getting heavy I swap hands… my mistake, I was getting clumsy… tired… retrieving something from her outfit she charges a dagger and throws it. I guess it had been meant for me… until Logan turned up. When she saw him come through the cabin door she must have snapped. It was fast… too fast for me to stop. I hadn’t realised how much she had improved since last I saw her. (It had been a year ago, she had pinned me to a wall outside a pub in Calgary. I had been lucky that night; a foul-mouthed man in a trench coat saved me.) The knife was true… too true… it cut through the air towards Logan, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

I could feel my control slipping… I was angry… no; I was enraged… I saw red, the rest of the world dropped away. My hands tightened on my sword… I stepped forward and attacked. I must have caught her off guard for the next thing I remember is her face as I was holding her up. The only thing stopping her from hitting the ground was my hand upon her shoulder and my sword in her guts. She was still alive… a puzzled look upon her face as if to ask a question. I lowered her to the ground as she looses consciousness. I leave her there and run to where Michael and Logan lie on the ground. It does not look good… it does not look good at all. I get to Michael first, as I suspect he is dying, nothing I can do. Aeolus’s knife had cut through his chest leaving a hole large enough to stick a hand through. It had been stupid of him to attempt to have stoped it. He had known that… what had he been trying to do… I’ll never know. He had regained consciousness when I had turned him over.

“” I am angry that he asks about her first.  
““ He seemed sadder at my reply, he shouldn’t be.   
“” He coughs up blood… there is too much blood…   
““ I wanted to pick him up and shake him… I wanted to scream at him WHY? But I did not instead I held him waiting for his last breath. He was in a lot of pain… and so… so was I.  
He reached up and brushed a hand across my face, leaving a bloody streak where his fingers touched my skin.  
**  
His ‘voice’ was weak… I could hear him dying… I wanted to tell him everything would be all right… that he wouldn’t die… that he couldn’t die…   
He sighed both mentally and physically. ** and with that he was gone. I don’t know how long I held him… it wasn’t long enough. 

The sound of multiple teleport beams brought me back to reality. Ten men and a woman stood in a circle looking at the scene in front of the cabin. Christopher was the first to move. He walked over to Aeolus. I sighed and stood up. “<~She~ should still be alive… if you take her now, she just might survive.>“ Christopher looked at my aunt. She nodded, he picked Aeolus up, and not even bothering to remove my sword, he turned away from us and… disappeared. Sophie looked at Michael’s body. I shook my head in the negative and stepped away. Sophie was always my favourite aunt; she had always seamed to understand me. She walked towards Michael stoping to touch my shoulder on the way ““   
I sighed and shook my head ““ I looked around at the blood on the snow, at Logan’s body “ _”  
Sophie picked Michael up as if he was a little child. Turning back to her companions she looked at me ““ _

_I did not watch them leave, I turned away to attend to Logan’s body… he was lying a meter behind where Michael’s body had been. The force of the knife had slammed into Michael with the force to cut through his chest and out the other side… like a hot knife through butter. Despite this the knife still had held enough energy to throw Logan a good meter away from where he was standing… in all rights it should have ripped his shoulder off… I knelt over his body and place my hand on the knife hilt… preparing to pull it out… something was wrong… I could not understand it… he was alive. I looked closer… yes there it was again… Logan was breathing. I could not understand it his shoulder was ‘crushed’ for want of a better word… he had lost a lot of blood… broken bones… severe burns… yet he lived. I stoped my ponderings… he won’t stay alive if I don’t do something… and quickly. I picked him up… and was surprised again… he was heavy… almost twice as heavy as he should be._

_I put him on the bed, picking up a face cloth I reached over and pulled the knife out… it was still very hot, placing the washcloth over the site to stop the bleeding. The cloth seamed to be working… there was a lot less blood than I expected… but that could be because the knife cauterised instead of just… cutting. His face was pale… too pale, and his breathing too shallow for my liking. I bandaged his shoulder as best as I could and washed off some of the excess blood. Sitting back looking at the handiwork I pondered what my next move would be. Standing up I walked over to the telephone. It was time to call in a favour or two._

_The phone was answered on the third ring… “Fury here”_  
I had rung one of the few people who might be able to help me, Nick Fury was head of S.H.I.E.L.D. they keep tabs on anyone who ever worked at Intel organizations… even if only as a janitor… if anyone could help me locate Logan’s Jean it would be him.  
”Nicky… Hess here… need a favour… need a phone number… only got first names… Scott and Jean. There friends of a Logan. He’s Canadian. She’s a red hair and her husband wears red glasses” I did not know why I mentioned the glasses… it just seamed appropriate. There was a pause on the end of the line… I was worried that he might have hung up.  
“This isn’t business is it?” His voice sounded cautious.  
”No… not as such… call it a… personal favour…” After all he owed me one or two.  
”You should be able to find them at Xavier’s school for the gifted… Is there trouble?”  
“No more than usual… at least… not for me” he laughed and gave me the number. 

_“Professor Xavier here, how may I help you?” The voice on the line was cultured and educated, Nicky must have given me a direct line._  
”I would like to speak to a lady by the name of Jean please” There was a pause and the voice came back. “I am afraid she is busy right now can I take a message…”  
”Commander Nick Fury, gave me this number… I am looking for Jean. She is a red hair married to someone named Scott. It is about a friend of hers… a Canadian… by the name of Logan” Just then a voice speaks up, she must have been listening in, I wondered how many others were as well.  
”Dr. Jean Summers here how can I help you?”  
”You Logan’s friend?”  
”Yes… has something happened to him?”  
”You might say that… he might be dying… Don’t know… he’s received a rather nasty wound… “ There had been sounds of distress while I was talking… however the voice when it replied was calm and controlled.  
”Where is he?”  
“Canada… his cabin…” Just then another voice spoke up  
”Dr. McCoy here Ms…”  
”Hess… you can call me Hess”  
”Well Hess… can you give me some more information… we will be approaching your vicinity in approximately two hours… and any pertinent information as to Logan’s condition would be appreciated”  
”He was unfortunate to get caught up in a… family discussion and was hit with an… energised projectile. His shoulder… looks to be in a bad way… in fact I’m surprised… he has no broken bones… the force of the… knife was enough to… punch a hole through… through… someone else… and still pick up Logan and… throw him a good meter or so. He is… resting at the moment. His breathing is shallow… and weak and he is bleeding… not as badly as I would expect… but he also has severe burns. I can’t stay here much longer… don’t expect me.” There was a mild chuckle from the other end of the phone   
“Logan has always had the ability to fall into such situations. How about you? You do not sound too healthy yourself… are you perhaps injured… it would be advantageous for you to rest. We have medical supplies on the way”   
I cursed under my breath, the shoulder wound was not severe, it would heal in time, my major concerns was the amount of blood I lost before I could bandage myself. I was dizzy and felt myself slipping into shock, something that I could not indulge myself with… yet. I pulled myself together with an effort and replied “I’m O.K… just a scratch… I have to go… check on… Logan.” Placing the phone down I wondered where this school was located… especially if they were only two hours away. I retraced my steps to the bedroom stoping only to pickup a bottle of water. 

_Sitting on his bed I watched Logan breath… in… out… in…out…. I had been angry at the thought that he had been hurt that he had… in… out… in… out… in… out… it was almost hypnotic. I wasn’t going to leave until I knew he was o.k. I just had to make sure they didn’t know about this… about me. After all what did I know about them? in… out…in…out… It was getting harder to concentrate… my body craved… demanded sleep… in… out… in… out. I did not know this man and yet… I felt a connection; I hoped that this was not what it appeared to be. I guess it won’t mater soon, he will be gone… and if he were lucky we would never see each other again… ever… in… out…in… I had feared the worst; it was almost too good to believe… he was still alive… in… out… time passed quickly… I must have dosed off. I looked up in alarm there was the sound of an aeroplane over the cabin. I stood up… standing was difficult. I was dizzy and for some reason I did not… could not leave him. I could hear others approaching, it was time for me to hide… I pulled… my body felt like it was on fire… my bones as if ice… the power came to me slowly… too slowly… cursing softly I pulled harder… and… disappeared._

_The front door opened… I could hear people entering the cabin, a woman’s voice… Jeans voice “Hello… Hess… Logan… Hank, she said he was in the bedroom.” The sound of footsteps drew closer… the bedroom door opened there were three people in the doorway. I moved further away from the bed… the room seamed to spin slightly…  
”He’s alive Jean… it must have been severe trauma for his healing to be as overtaxed as this… I’ll know more when we have moved him to the medical bed aboard the blackbird… he seems stable enough to move” Dr. McCoy… That must be Dr. McCoy. I was wondering whom the third person was when I felt hot knives run through my brain… the sensation increased… my body felt like it was burning up and I was sweating heavily… I felt my control slip… I don’t know if I made a sound or not… but the last image I had was of the three turning and staring at me… then nothing._

_I heard voices, they sounded concerned… a woman’s voice rose in anger, the answer came as an amused chuckle from a man… funny… his voice sounded familiar. Footsteps came closer, at least two people… I tried to open my eyes… needed to sit up… the room spun… all I could see is a white ceiling… a sharp pain raced through my skull like liquid lighting… and the darkness reached up and pulled me back under._

_There was a hand on my shoulder; it felt as though who ever it was is wearing a glove. I opened my eyes, and shut them just as quickly… the light was too bright… the man attached to the hand was standing over me, he was covered in a soft blue fur all over. He had been looking at a panel above my head. I turned to see what he was so interested in._  
“Greetings, and how are you feeling? I am Dr. Mc Coy and you are at the Xavier’s school medical facility. You have lost a great deal of blood and have server tissue damage to the Deltoid and Brachii muscles of your left arm. I have been treating you for shock and a hairline fracture of your humerus,”  
I smiled “Hess”  
I tried to sit up… the room spun… there was another hand holding me down…  
”Calm down darlin’… ya aren’t going anywhere… at least not for a while…”  
I turned to look at him, I must be delusional… he was dead… wasn’t he? I smiled at him… “Hello, didn’t I kill you? Are we dead?” I hadn’t thought I was dead… I hurt too much for that… yet if here was here… I must be…  
”Na, the old knucklehead is too hard to kill… ya just relax… the professor wants to ask ya a few questions…”  
I reached up and touched his face to confirm that he wasn’t my imagination.  
”Sure…”  
”Professor, remember she is recovering from quite an ordeal… she may not be completely aware of her surroundings as yet” that was Dr. McCoy, he was talking to someone else in the room. I turned to look at who he was talking to. There were three other people in the room, Jean, the red hair from the photos, a man in a wheelchair and someone else…  
”Hello Wisdom you old bastard… haven’t killed yourself yet you alco? What are you doing in my dream?”  
”No dream Tracker… or should I say Hess… you still look the same as when I saw you last”  
”If you mean like shit? Yep… I keep taking personal comments too personally… no mater this time I had the last word” I started to cough, my body protested.  
”How do you know each other?” This came from the man in the wheelchair. He must be the professor.  
”We meet in Calgary, he step in during a… small domestic dispute. He did me a favour… in return I did him one” 

_S.H.I.E.L.D had called him in to deal with a kidnapping case. The kidnaper had done a runner with a six-year-old girl; he also has a canister of one of the deadliest germ warfare agents, it had been thought that both the kidnaper and victim had been exposed to the agent, I helped them track him down. The kidnaper had been a S.H.I.E.L.D operative; they had lost half a dozen men before recruiting Wisdom. Wisdom had found me while looking for his target, I had been a little preoccupied… and when Wisdom found me I was busy being preoccupied with a knife in the shoulder. He helped me out with my little problem and in turn I helped him out with his. We found the exS.H.I.E.L.D operative two days later, twenty-eight people died from the germ warfare agent including the six-year-old girl, the exS.H.I.E.L.D operative hadn’t been so lucky._

_”Well Ms. Hess it would help us if you could give us some information about yourself… you seem to be reacting to something… you keep going into shock…”_  
”It’s backlash… I’m having trouble keeping control. I should recover much quicker now that I’m conscious. I can’t tell you much… Logan or Wisdom can tell you…”  
”Yes they gave us what little information that you appear to give to people… I still have further questions” I smiled; he was exactly like a schoolmaster dealing with a naughty student.  
”The only other information I can give you is what I am… I’m a peri… a genetically altered… person”  
He was about to ask me another question when a voice cut through the room, the voice was on an intercom system.   
”Professor? Jean? Commander Nick Fury is on the phone… he wants to talk to you about… our visitor”  
Jean and the professor left, Wisdom stood looking at me, nodded at Logan and left. I knew that he wanted to talk to me but left because Logan had asked him to. Hank walked back over to the bed from the other room, he had left after I mentioned the backlash. He was caring a syringe filled with a blue fluid. He looked at my face intently, “This is a specialised antihistamine, and it has been extremly effective in treating most backlash occurrences in our resident telepaths. The only side effect it has is it a very effective sedative as well.”   
I nodded, I would ordinarily be better in a day or too… however this might speed things up a bit.  
”Darlin’… what happened at the cabin? Jean said that we were the only ones there when they turned up”  
“After you were hit I got a bit mad and decided to point out the error of her ways to my sister… very pointedly. Before he… died… Michael had called for assistance. They turned up after everything was over and removed all the excess bodies from the vicinity… and left. I stayed behind to… to… ” I suddenly couldn’t tell him that I had thought he was dead… or how glad I had been wrong.  
”Sorry about Michael darlin’” I could see that he was truly concerned over my feelings. I couldn’t think of how to explain the relationship we had… it was so complicated I didn’t know if I understood it myself. I felt a warm fuzzy sensation drift over me.  
”That’s ok… he knew what he was doing…” I fell asleep at that point, and again the last image I had was of a man running through the forest at night. 

_I awoke hours later, I felt fantastic. My body is slow to recover but when it gets going it is amazing. My arm felt sore, but I found no problems with its mobility. I would most likely have a relapse if I pushed myself too hard for the next week or two… however it wasn’t my intention to do so. I sat up… no… or a least very little dizziness, I reached over and pulled out the I.V., I was starving, and I headed over to the cupboards to look for clothing. Walking around naked did not bother me, however I thought it prudent to up and dressed before the next person walked in the room. Finding some tracksuits I put one on, they were all too big so I adjusted one. Not knowing what to do now I went back over to the bed and sat down… feet dangling over the side. I looked the room over, the equipment was impressive, and it looked like there was a full operating theatre off to one side. I could see doorways leading off to other rooms; I assumed they were labs and isolation rooms._

_I was bored so I sat up straight and stated in my best commanding voice “Well am I going to sit here all day… or are you going to come in and say hello? You haven’t changed one bit Wisdom… still sulking around corridors and stuff.” I heard an amused chuckle from outside the door. He stepped in the room._  
“Well I hear you got payback for that incident in Calgary, bloody well took you long enough.” I smiled… a bitter smile, I could see that he wanted details, yet did not want to pry. He was always like that… he understood privacy… especially privacy about things like this.  
”Yep… you know what they say… it’s a bitch”  
”And then some… Hank and Jean aren’t going to be pleased that you are leaving the medical bay yet. We might as well surprise them, they are all in the kitchen… having lunch” With that comment I knew he was going to keep quiet about the past.  
I found myself mentally preparing myself as if to go into combat. Taking a deep breath I held out my hand “well we better go and meet the others… however I could kill for a good cup of coffee right about now” knowing part of my past and what I could do Wisdom chuckled…  
”Well, wouldn’t want that on my conscious… lets go” with that he took my hand and we left the room. 

_We walked over and entered a lift. Getting out one floor above we exited the lift. Passing a set of stairs, I felt dizzy; cursing under my breath I grabbed the banister. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at Wisdom. Good, he was standing there looking the other direction, he knew from experience how I would react if he had of offered help. I squared my shoulders and snapped at him “Well, are we just going to stand around here all day? Or are we going to get that coffee?” I noticed that he kept his face completely neutral for the rest of the trip. Lucky… don’t know how I would have reacted if he had have responded. I guess I had not regained as much control as I would have liked._

_As we entered the kitchen I studied the occupants… there was the red haired lady from the photos… Jean, the blue furred man I recognised as Dr. McCoy, a tall man wearing glasses talking to Jean… I recognised him from the photos as Scot… a teenager wearing a yellow coat also from the photos either Jubilee or Kitty, the other two were a tall dark skinned lady with startling white hair and Logan. They looked towards us as we entered the room. I sat sown on the nearest chair and asked before anyone else could say anything  
“Any chance on a cup of coffee? And a sandwich? I’m dying of the hunger over here” with that statement most of the tension that I had noticed left the room it didn’t however stop Dr. McCoy from coming over and fussing over my having left his infirmary. He stoped only when Jean came over with a plate of sandwiches and my much-desired coffee. _

_As I sat drinking I watched the group of people, I noticed that they in turn were studying me. I noticed that the young girl wanted to ask a question only to be stoped by Logan. I filed away her name for later, and returned to watching the group. I took Scott to be the group leader. That there was tension between the rest of the group and Wisdom… he had only just entered the room and had stayed leaning against the doorway. I noticed how Jean and Jubilee were both concerned and angry at Logan and that…. My thoughts about the collection of people stoped as Jean stood up and look directly towards me “If you are ready we have some questions we would like to ask… and the professor thinks the war room would be the best”_

_I looked around the room while everyone piled into the room. The professor was already they’re talking to a tall man wearing glasses and what looked like an overcoat. Great Remy LeBeau, all we needed was that idiot Wade and the fool Christian and all of the most irritating men I know of would be in one room. The only saving grace was tough I knew LeBeau; he however didn’t know me. He had been hired to retrieve something for the family… he however had been contacted by a third party and never knew exactly who he had been working for._

_While we were waiting for everyone to sit, Wisdom exempt… he rarely sat especially when there was a wall to prop up, one of the tallest men that I had ever seen walked in. He was carrying the largest gun I had ever seen a person carry. He looked as if he was expecting trouble, and when she turned up he would be ready. He had also been the third person at the cabin. The professor started the interrogation up “Well Ms. Hess we are glad you are feeling better, I am hoping you can shed some light as to what happened yesterday”_  
I shrugged, “I should probably introduce myself properly I am Hestia Rhe'a Peri, 1stSon, people call me Hess. About yesterday there is nothing much to say, I found a cabin to hole up in for the winter and get some rest, when Logan turned up. Soon after Michael turned up and tells us that my sister is nearby. When I woke up the next morning she is waiting for me. We fight… she kills Michael… injures Logan… I win… she didn’t… some of the ‘Family’ turns up… they take away the bodies… you guys turn up… here we are… end of story”  
”What about the backlash you were experiencing earlier, are you… telepathic?” That was Jean. All eyes turn to me at that. I didn’t know how to explain what had happened, the ‘Family’ had kept apart from the rest of the world for so long that I didn’t know how people would react to knowledge of who… of what we were.   
”No… not really… all members of the ‘Family’ can ‘talk’ to each other but few of us are telepathic… I’m not, neither were my sisters. The backlash was me trying to deal with an unexpected problem… I had to graft two talents… not the one I had expected, and my sister was still a bit angry with me… she didn’t exactly cooperate with me” I could see comprehension slowly settle around the group, there was surprisingly little disgust or fear. I wondered what had these people gone through to accept what I had just admitted to with such calm and understanding.   
”You mean you killed your sister and she’s now inside your head? Ew… grouse…” that was the girl called Jubilee, her comments had gained her some reprieving looks from a few of the others. I smiled; it was refreshing for me to meet someone with such a young outlook on anything. I was about to reply when I sensed a familiar presence I stiffened up. I looked over at wisdom “You carrying any normal cutlery Wisdom?” he looked at me in curiosity “give it over here now… we’ve got company” he nodded and threw a dagger at me. I caught it and reached feeling a tingle cover my body as I disappeared. I guess Wisdom had warned them what I could do, for apart from mild concern and a hell of a lot of curiosity no one panicked. Just then an alarm went off. Jean looked over at a panel and after reading the panel snapped coordinates at the rest of the people in the room. I didn’t need the information… I was already on the way to the front of the building. I didn’t know why they had turned up… but I was going to find out. 

_They were waiting on the lawn at the front of the building, all but one of them in uniform… then again I’d never seen ~her~ in uniform… ever.  
I felt the others line up behind me, they were fairly evenly numbered, I decided that it was not the time or place for an unnecessary fight. I step forward and… let go, as I reappeared every eye was focused on me. I stepped forward again and addressed the new arrivals “Mergiana, what does the ‘Sisterhood’ want from me? Why are you here?”  
She nodded her head and step forward as well “” I cursed at her under my breath, she wasn’t going to play games with me, not this time. Yet she had given a formal, traditional greeting… it was only correct to reply. “ _”  
” _and how are your friends?” She was really starting to annoy me, I was going to snap at her, when Sophie step forward “Mergiana, we don’t have time for your games… you annoy the 1stSon, and myself with your childish games. Do what you came here to do… so we can go” She nodded her head at me and stepped back. Mergiana watched her with a look of hatred on her face; there will be a fight when they get home… not unusual for Mergiana. Mergiana turned to me and with a smile on her face bowed and held out a hand… as if to catch something. There was a look of concentration on her face and a sword appeared in her hand. It was black as night, sharp as all hell, and at least three feet long. She looked at me and then at the sword as if daring me to do something. When I did not react, she shrugged her shoulders and thrust the tip of the sword downwards into the grass. “1stSon. 1stSon… this is yours to claim” her voice was filled with strong emotions; most of them envy and pride. “1stSon as you know the time of choosing has come… it is time for the 1stSon… for you to take up your duties… we… the sisterhood have… ~chosen~” I turned my back and started walking towards the building, as they activated their transporters I heard Sophie say, “Take care 1stSon” I continued to walk away. As I neared the group of people outside the door I heard Jubilee say “Wow… they are… like… really serious about this son thing… Hey… Didn’t anyone tell them that she’s a girl?” That comment almost made me smile… almost.___

___I walked back to the war room and sat down. I was angry, angry with them, angry at this situation, but mostly angry with myself. I should have left as soon as I woke up… I didn’t know what had kept me here… no I lie, I did know… and I had already almost gotten him killed once. Next time there might not be an almost there. Pulling out the dagger I slammed it down into the table in front of me, using a touch of power it slid into the table up to the hilt. I heard a chuckle, turning I saw that it was Logan “Don’t think that table will ever cause ya trouble again” I smiled, Logan reminded me a lot of Christian, maybe that was why I was so ready to trust him from the start. Wisdom entered the room, carrying the sword. He laid it down on the table. As the others entered I noticed that everyone looked at the sword, then at me then the sword again. Wisdom frowned at the dagger sticking out of the table, giving a small shrug I pulled it out and tossed it back at him “Thanks” he smiled and put it away._ _ _

___I felt naked with out any kind of knife, however I wanted their people to relax more around me. I remembered back to an incident when I first met Wisdom. It was after the incident in Calgary, we had finished the job… and I found myself in a heli heading for the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. We arrived and the first thing someone asks is for me to remove my weapons. I had given the fool a look of disgust and was about to do something the looser, when Wisdom spoke up “Come on, smegging humour the little git, I wana see Fury” as I didn’t want to leave Wisdom at the time I smiled and complied. Two minutes and a dozen or so knives later I was told to just go in… I was glad I had removed less than half of what I had been carrying._ _ _

_____When everyone had gotten seated I looked over at the professor, I did not know how he was going to react… there was so much I didn’t know. But as they say he who hesitates is lost. “I’m sorry… I was trying to keep you out of this… the ‘sisterhood’ had no right to turn up as they did… they knew that I would be gone from here in a couple of days… they could have waited”_  
“What’s going on?” that was from the tall lady standing near LaBeau… Storm I think her name is. The other one I hadn’t named yet was called Bishop, didn’t look too religious to me… then again the look he was giving me at the moment would have probably put the fear of god in most people. I looked at storm, deliberately ignoring Logan sitting beside me. I did not… did not need to know how he was reacting to all this. Damn him I did not know him… I did not… would not care… unfortunately even as I thought it I knew it for a lie. I smiled at Storm, a bitter smile “It’s a war, the worst kind of war, it is a division in a very old house… there was a mistake, and many people were hurt, physically, mentally… we thought that it had gone away, that was our first mistake… ‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven’”  
“Revelation 12, chapter 7” That had been LeBeau, see catholic schooling does help… especially when complete strangers quote the bible at you for strange reasons.  
“But why all the pussyfooting around the hunk of metal on the table? What did the frails want giving it to ya like that?”  
I turned to look at Logan, he deserved an answer for that question, they all did.  
”THAT” I said pointing at the sword “is an invitation, I am asked to take up the full responsibilities of 1stSon of the ‘Family’, and as such win this war, by bringing me the sword the ’Sisterhood’ informed me who was on my side. It is very important when setting out to… kill family members not to kill the wrong ones” I had put so much bitterness into the last statement that many of the group flinched.  
”Does it have to be that way darlin’?” I wanted him to understand, I wanted somebody to understand who I was what I had done and why.  
”Yes. This won't be the first time… the war started a long time ago… it has just been conveniently… ignored up until now. I killed a aunt when I was six, she had decided to kill the ‘Family’s’ sons, when I caught her she had knocked Aeolus out and was about to strangle her” I shrugged “so I stabbed her in the back” there was complete silence in the room, I could see many of the people remembering things out of their childhood and measuring them against mine.   
”You must have had a horrible childhood” I looked over at Jean, Scott was holding her hand… tightly I noticed.  
”No, it wasn’t all that bad… aunt Niobe, should have known better though… after all if you spend generations trying to breed the perfect killing machine, it does become dangerous to lean over a cradle”   
Just then three other people walked through the door. Two teenagers and a tall thin blue man. This place was getting as crowded as central station, and what’s with the colour blue? I decided that I needed time to myself for a while. Ignoring Logan’s attempt to grab my arm I stood up and pulled… less than five minutes later I was seated on a rock near a lake, wondering how I had gotten into this mess, and what it was going to cost me to get out. 

_____The next few days were fairly boring, I spent most of my time asleep, and the rest of the time I spent avoiding Logan. I got to know the various people and their names. They called themselves the X-Men. There were at any one time up to aprox eighteen people at the mansion they called the Xavier school for higher learning. I had met most of them, however some didn’t stay for long, or only visited briefly. I was standing on the rock near the lake again after finishing some exercises when Katherine Pryde confronted me; she as always was being followed by Sara. I turned to look at her after it was clear that she was not going to leave. I almost smiled when I noticed that Sara was unconsciously copying her actions. There was only two reasons for her to act this way… my refusal to answer any more questions about the sword and my avoidance of Logan. With my luck it would not be about the sword, and she confirmed this with her first words._  
”Why are you avoiding him?” I sat down; I did not know exactly how to respond, so I chose the honest approach. After all the best lies were often the truth.  
”Because I am leaving soon, and can not afford complications, ~he~ would be a complication, and I can not afford him”  
She shifted her posture, as if unconfutable with the next question “Do you… love him?”  
”That question is irrelevant I have… obligations, and it is not in ~MY~ nature to walk out on a relationship… so there is not going to be a relationship”  
She looked at me as if I had hit her in the stomach… hard. Turning away she left, as she did I noticed Sara give me a dirty look. 

___I picked up the practice sword I had been playing with and called over my shoulder “Well are ~you~ coming out to lecture me as well… you are either Wisdom… in which case you know better or LeBeau, in which case you don’t know enough to…” He didn’t say anything. I sighed and turned around to find myself looking at the last person I wanted to see… Logan. He was standing where I had expected to see Wisdom.  
”Well…” I filled that word with a world of questions. I sat down and waited… looking over the lake I couldn’t help notice the beauty of this place. I contemplated the peace and harmony that these people had created around themselves, and found myself feeling a little envious. The sky started to darken and I turned around half expecting that he had left, instead I found that he was still standing there, still looking at me. I stood up and walked over to where he was and took his hand. He looked at our hands and looked up into my face. “Are you asking who I am? I cannot tell you that… not anymore. I can not stay… the call is too hard to ignore, and as I have mentioned before I have obligations… I have promises to keep” and with that I let go of his hand and walked back to the mansion. Knowing full well that if I turned around I would find him still staring at me. As I walked back to the mansion a small voice inside my head finished off a fragment of poetry… and miles to go before I sleep…_ _ _

___I entered the kitchen, to find nearly all of the inhabitants eating Chinese. I was glad that I found them all together; there was something they needed to hear. I step up to the table and waited for the conversations to die down and everyone’s attention to be on me. When it was I started the speech I had prepared earlier “I have to thank you for all your help… I have unfortunately gotten you all involved in something you should not have been. I have ‘Family’ commitments and as such will be leaving tomorrow. I know that you have let me stay here only after being asked by Wisdom… however you have made be feel welcome and for that I thank you. I know that you have spent time and resources helping me recover and for that and the injury I have caused you all, and as 1stSon of the ‘Family’ I have arranged for compensation, including a new motorbike and medical library, to be paid to the Xavier Institute.” I turned away to leave for my room when Jean spoke up “It wasn’t Wisdom… it was Logan” with those words my I froze where I was standing, I turned around and there… standing in the doorway was Logan. He still had that haunted puzzled look on his face, like a puppy that had been kicked once too often. Everyone except Jean had turned to look at him. They were all frozen in place, everyone waiting for one of us to react. I looked at Jeans face; she was looking at me with an understanding I did not want… with a sadness I did not want to see. With an effort I stumbled out of the room and in to the corridor. I did not know him… I did not know him… the phrase kept repeating in my head, only to be replaced by… he does not love me… he does not love me… it was as if I could repeat this enough I would believe it. We were almost complete strangers… it was imposable for us to be in love … wasn’t it?_ _ _

_____It was midnight and I could not sleep, throwing off the covers I got out of bed and passed over to the window. Testing my shoulder I leaned out of the window, grabbing a convenient handhold I boosted myself on to the roof. As before the first impression I had was of peace, I wrapped the feeling around my soul like a warm blanket and watched in the distance the reflection of the moon on the lake below. I don’t know how long I sat there listing to the sounds of the night, feeling myself breath. The sound of someone stumble and swear under her breath brought my attention back to reality… there in the dark being very, very clumsy was another member of this family that called themselves the X-Men. I turned to face the resident firecracker they called Jubilee. Waiting I noticed that she was still wearing that yellow jacket… I wonder haw she thinks she can sneak up on people wearing that… then again her personality is so loud that would probably give her away first. Smiling I decided that Christian would have liked this firecracker of a girl; then I remembered that Christian was dead._  
”You know we should put proper seats up her or something…” I blinked, not the first words I had expected to hear “don’t know why but every time someone has to go somewhere because they think their heart has been ripped out and left in a bloody little puddle somewhere… they come up and sit on the roof… go figure”  
I didn’t know how to respond to that looking out across the grass and woods surrounding the mansion grounds I felt at home… more at home than the compound I had grown up in. I waited not knowing what to expect, just then a figure flew by the shadow casting a strange pattern on the grass below… the man known as Woran Worthington was landing close to the front steps of the mansion… his wings gave his alias a new dimension in the moonlight. I stare down at him until he enters the house with his companion… Elizabeth I think her name is… though they also call her Betsy “Do you know that Peris are suppose to have wings? It is in all the stories… Peris are small winged female Din Gins… Daemons… that kill. Its strange… despite this no one in the ‘Family’ can fly… just like there are no male Sons… they tried to breed males into the line… however none of them survive… so they use what they have… US… or rather… I now. Doesn’t matter… tomorrow I’ll… be gone, and it won’t mater anymore… to anyone ” at that I shrugged, after all it didn’t matter and come tomorrow it will all be over… one way or another. She had come over close to where I was sitting I looked up at her expecting a snide word or two instead she smiles and… slaps me… hard. We now stand facing reach other across the roof tiles… I resist the urge to blink or rub my face… from my defensive stance I notice that she is isn’t carrying any obvious weapons… and snorted… no need to if your very body is a weapon. I straiten up and smile… Christian would have really liked her… I wince at how often I had been taken by surprise since his death, not a good recommendation for an assassin. Then again I had always been the least of the Sons… in everything… it had always surprised me every morning that I was still alive, and yet I was… then again tomorrow is always a different story. She looks at me, and grins, sounding a lot like Logan she says “Got a grip on reality yet… ~son~?” she laughs at that… I do blink, then and laugh along with her. She pulls an apple from her pocket and throws it at me; grabbing it I notice that she has started to eat another. “Well you fit right in here… mystifying past… weird dysfunctional family… Private quest… masses of ANGST… oh, and don’t forget one great big bloody massive mysterious sword… yep you fit right at home…” we sit back down facing each other taking another bite out of her apple she looks at me as if judging something. “Well are you going to spill… what happens tomorrow” I turn my head and look at the moon… tomorrow seems far away, yet too close to be real.   
”Tomorrow I take that ‘great big bloody massive mysterious sword’ and go and kill most of my family… the funny thing is… I don’t want to” I shrug my shoulders “being told that you will do something and realising that you will are two different things”  
”Is that why you keep to yourself… you scared? Is this why you are acting like you are going to die?”  
The comment surprised me, I was angry then, shocked again, then confused finally I felt a tiredness fall over me. “I guess you can say something like that… it’s why… it’s why…” I found that I could not complete the sentence.   
”Kitty told me what you said earlier… it’s no reason to ignore someone… no one should ignore friendship… we never get enough… and sometimes it’s all we have. He’s strong… he’s survived a lot… I’ve seen him in a lot of pain. But nothing like the pain you are putting him through. He has a healing factor… it helps with the outside… it can’t… won’t help fix the inside. Kitty tells me that he was like this when I get into trouble” she shrugs her shoulders “she doesn’t like it then… I don’t like it now. Not many people like the old man… they see the outside and rarely look and see the person inside. For some reason we have… Kitty sees him like a father… I see him like a partner, an older brother… few see the man… you do, don’t you…” I looked at her closely, she wasn’t saying what I think she was saying was she? I looked over at the window to his bedroom. Standing up I turned back and smiled a thank you at her. She is walking away, I heard her ask someone else if I would be all right… if we would be all right. I didn’t hear the response… it was too soft, however her footsteps sounded lighter as she walked away. 

___Standing beside the window ledge to his room was LeBeau; he’s the third member of this unusual household up here on the roof with me. It was no wonder Jubilee mentioned chairs… I couldn’t move five paces without tripping over one or the other of them. I thought he was going to say some thing to me, however all he does is light a cigarette, nod and walk away. I step out onto the ledge and knock on the window. I can hear him stand up and walk over, he looks out and seeing me puts a hand out for me to take. Stepping into the room I notice that there is little furniture, and fewer personal belongings. He stands there looking at me, as if asking a question. I step closer “I’m sorry… I should never have gotten you involved in this… I have been running away from this for so long… that I had become tired… I guess I made a mistake… sorry” He reached up and held me. “Na darln’… there’s no need to be sorry… I’m old and ugly enough to look after myself” He held me for a while… and all I could do was listen to him breath… to his heart beat… I must have sighed for he stepped back and looked into my face. “Ya look tired darlin’ maybe ya should get some shuteye” he was about to step away again when I squeezed harder… I could tell that he was surprised… and faintly pleased. “No… I want to… hold you a bit longer… when you let go I know I’ll fall. Hold me please… just… hold me” he steps backwards still holding on to me until we reach the bed, reaching it he picks me up lies me down, tucking me in. Turning out the small bedside lamp, he lies beside me. I feel him breath in deeply… as if memorizing the smell of my hair. Just holding each other we didn’t say a word… we didn’t need to, it was as if holding him tightly would hold back the world… and with that thought I fall asleep._ _ _

___I awake in the morning, feeling more rested than I have been in quite a while. I hear Logan in the bathroom, getting up I stretch. Leaving will not be easy… not this time; I walk down to my room for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Downstairs I meet Jean making coffee. “Mmmm, smells good, any chance of a cup?” I watch her pottering around the kitchen; it all looks so normal, so domestic. Not that there has been much you can call normal in my life. I smile as Scott enters the kitchen; he walks up behind her and gives her a hug. They kiss and she murmurs something into his ear. He looks over at me, and smiles, yes I can see what Jeans sees in him… when he smiles that is. I lift the coffee cup to my mouth when there is a sharp stabbing pain at my neck… I drop the cup…standing up and turning around to see who had sneaked up behind me. There is no one there. Puzzled I look back at Scott and Jean, Jean is standing there staring at my neck in shock. I reach up, my fingers searching for what she is looking at… they touch something sticky, I look at my hands, they are covered in blood. I smell them, not believing it I put my fingers in my mouth… the taste of blood is unmistakable. I walk to the sink to wash my neck… Jean hands me a cloth, wiping my neck I look at the reflection in the window… I watch as the cut disappears. I wash the cloth under the sink and start cleaning up the spilled coffee, Jean and Scott haven’t moved, Rogue walks in… she seems to be a morning person, she walks over to the fridge, and opens it she looks in and picks up a bottle of orange juice. Turning around she sees us for the first time “Hello, ya’ll, Coffee’s on I see…” she stops speaking when nobody seems to respond to her greeting “Anything wrong sugar?” she walks over to Jean and touches her shoulder.  
“No… Logan has just cut his face while shaving… you would think someone his age would do a better job… after all I don’t think Scott here has for a long time… and that healing ability of his is no good excuse” Rogue looked over at me in confusion at my comment. Couldn’t blame her… I knew this was happening… it’s all my fault. I should have… I should have… damn it should and could haves won’t get me out of this. I stand up and walk out the room. As I leave I hear the buzz of faint conversation behind me. Walking back through the corridor I pick up the bag I had dropped earlier. _ _ _

_____Walking into the war room I sit down, staring at the sword… it is my future… it is my fate after all didn’t someone say that ‘all human things are subject to decay, and when fate summons us, even monarchs must obey…’ and who am I to try to stop destiny, I open the bag in front of me and start getting ready. They enter the room, as I get ready silently and in pairs. Logan is the last to enter he comes over and stands in front of me. I am seated on the table tying on the last of my amour around my shins. I don’t look up at him; he reaches over and touches my chin, lifting it up so he can have a look at my neck. Jean must have told him what happened in the kitchen. He looks concerned… I smile and reach over to kiss him… yes it was going to be hard to leave._  
“What happened earlier in the kitchen?” that was Scott, I look over at him, he is standing next to Jean.   
“You have a link with Jean don’t you?” I wait for a reply, Jean nods “well it’s like that” understanding starts to dawn in their eyes, I sigh and shake my head “No… it’s not like ~that~, this link is very light, the reaction earlier was because of how new it is… when it breaks it won’t hurt you” the last statement I directed towards Logan.   
“You mean this has happened before? how, with who?” that was Jubilee. I smiles at her “Well… yes, I am a Peri, and Peris… aren’t complete people… we are genetically engendered… and part of that engraining is the ability… the need to ‘link’ with someone… didn’t you read up on me? My kind are in all of the fables… usually in a bottle or two… it’s how Michael found me…” I smile at that implied inference… though very true.  
”ya still think you are dying today darlin’?” I had felt him tense up behind me as I was explaining myself to the others… I turned back to him… I wanted so much to stay, however I knew that I could not… would not.   
“This is my fight… I cannot… will not ask you to get involved. This war has cost me too much already. I will not let it take any more. It is better this way” I started to reach for the sword… his hand grabs mine…”and if we do not ask ya to… what then. Ya do not have the right to stop us… to stop ~ME~.” I sigh looking at the others I see determination behind their eyes… damn them. I was too tired to argue, I nod agreement “so be it” lifting the sword up I look back at him, reaching over I kiss him. “Well if you are all coming on this adventure ride we best be on our way… no chance of changing your mind?” he shakes his head. I reach over and kiss him again. His kisses are intoxicating; they are dark, rich and earthy, like the best bitter chocolate and roses. With that I reach inside myself… pulling everyone along with me… I reach out and touch the sword… and we disappear… 

___I look around at who had come with me, there was Logan, Jubilee, Kitty, Sara, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Wisdom, Psylocke, Angel, Iceman, Cyclops and Jean. I noticed that not everyone had come and wondered at the motives for these people to be here, I feel a bit of pleasure that I remember everyone’s names. We were standing on a plane that was completely featureless. There was no colour to the landscape… it was as if all of the colour had been washed out. The sky was a dazzling white and I noticed that I wasn’t the only one to wince at the brightness. Everyone turned from their visual exploration of the landscape and looked at me. For some strange reason I noticed that I was the shortest person there. There are questions in everyone’s eyes. I look around again, shrug and look over at Logan; he had not taken his eyes of me… well here goes…_ _ _

_____I lift the sword and plunge it into the ground at my feet… at once there is a difference… I notice that only Psylocke, Jean, Logan and I notice it. Logan looks to the sky above my right shoulder “Heads up everyone… incoming” at his comment everyone gets ready for an attack. I turn my head and look up at where he was looking. There in the sky coming closer is a woman. I smile, Sophie always knew how to make an entrance. I wait for her to land. “Sophie” I say with a smile, walking over to hug her, “learned a new trick lately?” She shook her head and smiled, she was happy to see me, then again the ‘sisterhood’ have been waiting for this day for a long time and aunt Sophie is the unofficial leader of the ‘sisterhood’. “1stSon… No, just borrowing from an old friend” She looked over the collection of individuals, “Have you explained everything yet?”_  
I was glad that she did not question their presence, I shrugged “No, It’s not something that is easy to explain… I thought it best to show them instead”   
At that Sophie smiles “Have you chosen? If you haven’t you better soon… they’re coming”   
I look back at the group assembled before me they had been investigating the surroundings, each in their own way, yet no one had wondered too far.   
”Sophie is here in case anything goes wrong, she is your transport home. Please let me explain what I can of this… You may see some strange things… please understand. You are not really here… this place is not quite… real. I am about to change the… decor slightly. Any requests?” I heard Sophie try to stifle a laugh; it may have been inappropriate to crack a joke, but damn it I might be dead very quickly, very soon and that gives me the right to. I stretch, feeling all the joints in my body change, reaching inside me I find all that is ~me~ and gather it up, slowly I push it out in front of me and… let go. 

___The sensation is amazing, it is impossible to describe properly. It is like how sweets can be so strong they turn sour, when ice is so cold it burns and pleasure so intense it almost becomes pain, sound so loud that it becomes silence, light so bright that it becomes dark. It is what people have called dejavou, what others have describes as ‘being in the zone’ it is… intense. Slowly, oh ever so slowly the landscape changes, the sky is the first to change, it becomes a dark blue, a blue that comes after the sunset but before the night sets in. I hear the sound of people testing the ground, and smiled. Opening my eyes I see the image that had just before only existed in my mind. It was a beach; I had always loved the beach… and this one in particular. The sand ran for miles in each direction. “This is a war of the mind, I have just made the first move”_ _ _

___Everyone looked the beach over… the image was perfect in everyway, down to the sound of the waves breaking on the beach and the feel of sand beneath my toes. Logan was the first to react… he stepped over to the sea and tasted the water “What’s this for… why the beach… where did it come from… what’s it mean?” I sighed… it was going to be hard to explain… no mater what I said… it would be inaccurate. However I owed it to him… I owed it to me to try to explain. There was the possibility that he might understand… believe me. “This fight… this war is being fought partially in our minds… partially in the real world and mostly in another… place. This place was… discovered by my ancestors… they developed it and use it to travel… to visit and to fight in. I am using my abilities and the support you are giving me to shape… to manipulate how we see our surroundings. The fight becomes more than physical, as the opponents will try to change the environment to their vision. This beach is important to me… it’s where I met Christian. The sword is what we fight for… I control it now… however if I loose control… I… loose” As I was talking the temperature had begun to drop… fast. I was trying to stabilise it when he turned up._ _ _

_____“”_  
“Yes father I did bring some people… then again so did you I see… “ I said the last comment to the large group of people that were standing behind him.  
”Actually… Hess… love they brought him… it appears that our good father did not want to come on his own… shame really… the head of the ‘Family’ being the coward that he is” I stood in shock, surprise written clearly across my face I felt sick… I knew that father would… had done some horrible things in his life, then again so had I. However what he had dared do… what he had done was unforgivable… and the proof was standing right in front of me. I let out the breath that I had been unknowingly holding and spoke the word that I never thought I would say… to a person I thought I would never see again, at least not in this life. I stretched out my hand as if to touch his face…   
“Christian… … Christian… How… why… … …“  
It started to snow… and between us, the sword began to bleed… and the ground ran red. 

_____I looked at the others standing around father “I 1stSon… scion of all that the ‘Family’ is and will be call you to order… here and now I clam my… blood right. Here and now I acknowledge the need for… leadership. I offer myself up for the reckoning. This spilt amongst us has to stop… the wound to heal… and by authority given to be I call those to witness to do so and those to chose to chose… now” I step back and deliberately turn my back on father and… Christian. I nearly collapse in Logan’s hands, the only thing that stops me is the knowledge that any weakness will be used against me… especially by him._  
”What’s wrong with her… you Sophie tell me what’s wrong… why is she so pale… and why did the other… Christian… affect her so… what did she call him” That was Logan, he sounds so upset. I shake my head… however as I suspected Sophie ignores me.  
”Calm down Logan… you NEED to be calm. In a minute we will be joined by others who will not be as patient as I … however to answer your questions. We are at war; Hess is the… focal point… the opposition has just hit out at her and to answer your other questions… Christian is the… focal point for the other side, Hess was not expecting this… we all thought that father would be, not Christian. After all it was because of father that he… died a long time ago… and why this is affecting her… it’s not every day that you have to kill your lover… again.”  
I had been studying my hands as Sophie spoke… I was scared to find out how they… how he was reacting to this. I felt his hand reach out and cradle my cheek, lifting my face to his eyes. He brushes away tears that I had not realised I had cried. Sophie continues  
”Look alive kids… anytime now we are going to be joined by the rest of the ‘sisterhood’, and… anyone else that has thrown their support with us… this is how it is going to be. When we have all gathered in two neat little armies facing each other the… real fun will begin. This is a lot like chess, one piece will move at any time and if we loose the… ‘King’ we loose the war. Fighters from either side will ‘challenge’ to fight another. I have negotiated with father so that if you choose to fight you can fight to first blood… however to do so means that loss is still final… we… I send you home on the loss. All other fights are to the death. This is to test for leadership so both sides are… more or less equal. However Jubilee, Sara, Storm, Angel, Cyclops and Jean will not be invited to ‘play’ they can initiate a fight… however I can tell you now that no one will accept a challenge from Angel or Jean.”   
At this Angel flipped a wing in irritation, I smiled “It’s not intended as an insult Angel… Seraphs… cherubs… Angels… they hold a special place in the history of the ‘Family’. I remember painting some pretty wings on a ceiling in Rome. The idea of fighting… of hurting someone with wings is… unthinkable. However your presence has won us a victory… without that fear they would not have allowed us the ‘to the first blood’ clause in the negotiations”  
”Negotiations?” That question was probably the most loaded question that I’d heard for a long time, with that word Logan had managed to ask a million questions… questions that I wanted to, wished to answer. However I knew that I most likely would never answer to his or even my satisfaction. However I had to, needed to try… after all they can say that… I tried ”Logan… Wolvie… I am… older than you think; I have been… waiting for this for a long time… a very long time. I… we… the ‘Family’ have been thinking… planing of this day for years. Everything has been taken into account. To give you a clue of how long I have been waiting… You can go and see the painting I helped plan… it’s in a church in Rome… they call it the Sistine. Christian… died during world war two… it took me thirty years to get over his death. Sophie has been busy… she has spent her time while we were gathering to set the rules of the battle to come… not that the rules will stay static… it’s just that we need a… framework.”  
”World war two?” I sighed… unlike Ockams razer the simplest solution wasn’t the correct one… at least not this time. And at least some of what I was going to say would be the truth. After all the best lies always had some truth and most truths hold a lie within.  
”We… the ‘Family’ are not mutants… we are… aliens… we landed somewhere in the Urals about the time that Christopher Columbus was mistaking North America for India. We have kept a low profile… you might understand why. We had an empire that spanned galaxies… and when we were cast down we… found ourselves here. I doubt that anyone would remember us… we were unknown when we had power… I doubt that we would be more than children’s stories nowadays. It’s one of the reasons why I… why many of us loved the stories in the Old Testament. It helps us forget that we deserved what happened to us… and why I have to stop father… he wants to ‘storm the very gates of heaven’ he does not understand that our day has passed and it will not come back… unfortunately, like an upset child he will destroy what he can not have” 


End file.
